Apsleys at The Lanesborough: moving up the ranks

Apsleys at The Lanesborough achieved something on our first visit there that almost no other restaurant we have ever visited has been able to replicate, that is, a dish so so good that you keep thinking about it hours, days, weeks and even months after you’ve tasted it, a dish that belongs exclusively to them and which no other restaurant has replicated anything close to. That dish is their Carbonara fogotteli, more of which later. 

Looking back, the rest of that first meal at Apsleys was, well, okay, but not so memorable, or rather, at least a hundred miles in the shadow of the carbonara. However, the carbonara was so good that we decided to revisit Apsleys just to eat this dish again but here’s the twist, the restaurant this time around has shifted up a gear and delivered a superlative meal that delighted us on each of the many courses seeing us totally revise our opinion of Apsleys.

First, let’s take a step back and trace what's going on here. Each of the grand London hotels has a top chef authenticated restaurant such as Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, Gordon Ramsay at Claridges and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester to name but a few. The Lanesborough in 2009 partnered with Heinz Beck bringing Apsleys to life though you could be forgiven for asking ‘Heinz who?’. 

Beck is, perhaps curiously, a German national who runs a three Michelin starred restaurant in Rome, La Pergola at the Cavalieri Hotel cooking Italian food for the Italians; no mean feat then. This is his first venture outside of Italy and I too must put my hand up and say that even if he were sitting at the next table to me, I would in fact fail to recognise him. Nevertheless, this might soon change if the restaurant gets the recognition that we think it now deserves following our recent meal. 

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Back to the food and starting at the beginning, we were served not one but four amuse bouche (is that bouches? I don’t know) on a plate; quantity would be one of the themes of the day though we must say up front, this is not at the expense of quality. Overall, this plate was the least strong of the many dishes before us over the course of the meal but something of course has to be the weakest link, rather it be this then. The four tasters were i) mackerel with salmon caviar, ii) an aubergine bell, iii) borlotti bean foam with mint oil and iv) egg cremino with tomato confit and grated black olive. It was visually impressive on the plate, and as will be a recurring theme throughout this meal, a substantial effort on the part of the kitchen to produce but didn’t leave us agape. None of these teasers took us to a culinary place we hadn’t been before but we know the carbonara is to come and few places really shoot the lights out with the amuse bouche anyhow.

For our antipasti I had the Langoustine carpaccio and Mrs CC had the Pappa al pomodoro with beef fillet and avocado. Now we start with the where to start? The carpaccio was a layer of tomatoes blended with Tuscan bread topped with a layer of tartar of beef which was further topped with quenelles of avocado, black rice crisps and fresh herbs. The tomatoes were the strongest flavour coming through with a fantastic taste density with the beef then following on, with perhaps the only criticism being that the beef should outshine the tomato; nevertheless, a beautiful little starter.

The langoustine carpaccio meanwhile was a masterpiece. Disc rolled flat onto the plate, the super fresh, super clean langoustine are topped with salmon caviar, Osetra caviar (which the chef we think kindly put on as an extra) together with crisped rice, croutons and herbs. Part of the genius of this dish is that each mouthful having been gathered on the fork blended different quantities of each of the key ingredients so providing a unique taste experience each time. This was a clean fresh wonderful dish that surprised much beyond what the simple menu description promised, a phenomena we will see again shortly.

Next up is the ‘primi pasti’ and here we both went for what we came for, the carbonara fagottelli. Of course, ‘carbonaro’ is a member of a secret political association in Italy and just one letter removed, Heinz Beck’s carbonara makes you feel like you’re in some secret eating club to which others who have not enjoyed the pleasure are excluded. What is so remarkable here is the liquid centre. Put the carbonara on your spoon, put the whole thing in your mouth and push your tongue to the top of your mouth. The carbonara, crushed under the gentle pressure just oozes the liquid parmesan into your mouth and it is simply wow. This is truly an incredible dish leaving you asking, ‘how can they wrap a liquid in pasta?’. It just doesn’t seem possible. To add some extras, there’s finely sliced shallots, herbs and pigs cheek dressing the pasta. This is truly pasta like you’ve never tasted before. Don’t go there and not eat this, it would be a crime.

Two fish courses to follow. The first is a ‘turbot in salt crust, roast pepper and potato terrine’. Again, Apsleys is underselling the dish. It’s brought to the table on a silver tray, the tray dressed with vegetables, pepper terrine and the fish encased not in a traditional salt crust but within a bread. Pasquale (who we’ll come to later) then dresses the plate with the vegetables from the tray and expertly cuts open the bread to gently tease off the belly of the turbot onto the plate, lay the fillet, flip it, more belly and then more fillet and spoons over the pepper sauce. This is beautifully done. What’s more is the astounding array of vegetables offered, each cooked with love and care. Each is done to perfection meaning they were separately cooked rather than thrown in a single pot; there is so much on the plate here but nothing sacrificed for quantity or variety; this is truly a labour of love and a spectacular if hugely full dish.

For my part, I chose the ‘cod nero, broccoli puree and red pepper just’, again undersold. The black cod has been cooked sous vide and is topped with red peppers and dried bresaola crumble. I’ve never had or seen cod like this before, it’s delicious. Also on the plate is a bed of onion fondue which is soft and sweet and vegetables including Swiss chard, French beans, broccoli, broccoli puree, fava beans and green peas. Amaranth cereal is sprinkled over the dish and is a testimony to the micro management of each plate, the detail is exquisite. This black cod was an absolute delight and completely original as far as I know or have experienced.

Pre dessert is a trio of desserts, sort of ironic really. A shot glass contains fragolino, a Swiss-Italian strawberry tasting sweet and sour grape juice and that sits alongside a layered chocolate caramel gateaux and a raspberry ice with crushed pistachio. The real star though of the post secondi dishes was a dessert simply entitled ‘milk’. So full from our extensive dining already, we shared one and were blown away by this. With just a one word title, everyone of course asks what it is; it sounded intriguing and rather than plump for what I’m sure would have been a delightful but obvious choice soufflé, we opted for this milk come chocolate concoction.

Apsleys kindly wrote down what we had to help us with this blog as the plate is quite remarkable. Simply to list: milk parfait, milk ice cream, crunchy chocolate dome (includes three different types of chocolate and a crunchy base with gold leaf dressing), battonette of dark chocolate and coconut, cannolo (meaning little tube) of chocolate filled with strawberry champagne and espelleto pepper, and a shot of Baileys coffee and milk foam. The sauce dressing was vanilla and mango. We commented that at L’Atelier, the dessert was heaven for chocolate lovers but not sophisticated, here at Apsleys meanwhile was the evolution, what perhaps the ultimate sweet chocolate dessert is. Mrs CC likes a touch of salt and savoury mixed in with her desserts so more my taste than hers, but as with everything put before us today, this was a hugely busy but uncompromising plate of great dessert. Priced on the menu at £10.50, this is the bargain of the day for its brilliance.

Finally we had an impressive plate of petit fours. 

By any count, this was an extraordinary meal. Massimiliano Blasone is the executive chef overseeing Apsleys and he has much talent and does a remarkable job. The sheer effort required to produce just our meal was mind boggling let alone repeating that each and every day at lunch and dinner, yet this is still a hidden gem for the restaurant shuns publicity and on the occasions that we have been there has been less than full. Surely though it is a better offering than the likes of Le Gavroche and gives any of the top end London eateries a run for their money.  Restaurant manager Pasquale Cosmai is absolutely charming and looks after his guests well, and with the restaurant having settled down to a more confident self, Apsleys will undoubtedly grow in popularity. We went there today solely on the memory of a great carbonara which in itself speaks volumes but the restaurant delivered a brilliant and confident meal in its totality that has caused us to completely reappraise it since its early opening. Apsleys has already achieved one Michelin star and they’re shooting for two and we wouldn’t be surprised if they were fast tracked to their second. Heinz Beck might well be little known outside Rome, especially compared to a celebrity UK chef like Gordon Ramsay, but one thing’s for sure, his food is a damn sight better.